While the lines to see *The Night Watch* inside the Rijksmuseum are often long, the garden offers a welcome moment of tranquility. This season, you can visit the retrospective of Carel Visser, a sculptor whose work is beautifully showcased outdoors. It’s an accessible way to explore the collection, as the garden is open to everyone. Those who prefer to visit the indoor spaces can currently see the exhibition “Ed van der Elsken: Up Close,” an intimate look at the work of the famous photographer.
The "Metamorphoses" exhibition is another highlight on the calendar. Between February 6 and May 25, 2026, eighty captivating masterpieces from around the world will be on display in the museum’s galleries. These works are rooted in stories from antiquity, brimming with passion and longing. Artists such as Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Rodin, and Magritte present their visions of these timeless themes here. It is a collection that brings diverse emotions—such as jealousy, cunning, and deceit—to life for visitors.
Sculptor Carel Visser will be featured in his own retrospective in 2026 in the renovated museum garden, which is open to the public free of charge.
The building itself is a story in its own right. Designed by Pierre Cuypers, the architect who also designed Central Station, this 1885 building is a historic monument with a rich past. Since its renovation, the atrium has become a bright, open space where Portuguese stone floors and a glass roof create a spacious atmosphere. Upstairs, you’ll find the library, known for its unique spiral staircase, which has been a defining feature of the collection since the nineteenth century.
In addition to its rotating exhibitions, the museum houses more than 8,000 objects in eighty galleries. Although most visitors head straight for Rembrandt’s *The Night Watch* or Vermeer’s *The Milkmaid*, it’s worth exploring the smaller galleries as well. In the Asian Pavilion, for example, you’ll find an impressive collection of Buddhist sculpture and ceramics. Whether you come for the classics or for the contemporary contributions of artists like Visser and Van der Elsken, the museum remains a place where art history meets modern curation. The garden serves as the ideal spot to take a moment of respite between viewing the great masterpieces. Sculptor Carel Visser will be featured in his own retrospective in the renovated museum garden in 2026, which will be open to the public free of charge. It is this combination of iconic paintings and contemporary exhibitions that makes every visit to the building on Museumstraat a unique experience.